1. Field of the Invention
With regard to the classification of art, this invention is believed to be found in the general class for Supports and more particularly to those subclasses pertaining to the removable mounting of vibrators to a railroad car.
2. Description of Related Art
Detachable vibratory railroad car shaker apparatus are known in the field. Exemplary brackets and tools for the removable mounting of a vibrator to a railroad car are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,003,733 that issued to Petersen on Oct. 10, 1961; U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,431 that issued to Matson on Aug. 26, 1969; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,588 that issued to Wadensten on May 9, 2000. These patents disclose a common type of separable male/female bracket arrangement. Usually the female portion of the bracket is attached to a hopper portion of a railroad car. This type of bracket is sometimes referred to as a Gardner or Tyler type and generally has a C-shaped seat or pocket portion (i.e. a wedge, dovetail or the like.) The male portion generally may be characterized as a T-shape that has a blade member (i.e. male wedge, male dovetail or the like) and a reduced connector portion (i.e. web, neck, leg and the like). U.S. Pat. No. 3,003,733 also discloses a wedge shaped tool for separating the male portion from the female portion of the bracket. U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,427 that issued to Heffinger on Jul. 14, 1998 discloses a powered means for insertion and removal of the male portion or half of the bracket into the female portion or half of the bracket. U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,431 discloses a threaded means for retaining the male portion of the bracket in the female portion of the bracket. U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,588 that issued to the present inventor and is solely owned by him discloses a tool that may be employed for releasing the wedge from the female portion or half.
The pivotal mounting of vibrators for the directional control of plate or roller compactors is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,314 that issued on Aug. 8, 1995 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,027 that issued on Sep. 30, 1997; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,648 that issued on Jan. 4, 2005. Each of these patents issued to the present inventor and is solely owned by him and they are incorporated by reference into this disclosure.
As previously mentioned above, the female portion of the bracket is usually fixed to the railroad car by a suitable means such as welding and the like and therefore remains with the railroad car as it is moved to various yards, unloading sites or locations. Whereas, the vibrator and the male half of the bracket should remain at a particular site for unloading the railroad car. It can be appreciated that in use, the female portion of the bracket and the male portion may not be exactly mated because they come from different bracket manufacturers, car shaker manufactures and/or in fact one or both of the parts of the bracket may be worn or oxidized. It can be also appreciated that the vibrator action may in fact cause the male and female portions to further lock together. U.S. Pat. No. 2,229,037 that issued to Boldman on Jan. 21, 1941 recognized the problem and stated “the male portion and female portion may become so tightly wedged together as to bar removal by ordinary means and when it is desired to remove the vibrators, this must be done while they are energized”. The above referenced patents have attempted to overcome the problem since the Boldman patent issued. However, it can be appreciated that trying to use a tool such as a wrench or hammer while the vibrator is energized becomes quite difficult.
Many times the male portion of the bracket is an integral part of the vibrator housing. It is common practice for a railroad work gang or crew to attempt to remove the vibrator from the car by means of a heavy hammer. It has been found that the railroad crews have accidentally damaged the vibrator housing or bent the wedge disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,003,733. Thereby, rendering the equipment unusable for its intended use. If the crew is unsuccessful in removing the vibrator from the car, the vibrator will then travel with the railroad car to a new location. The work gang or crew may or may not have a spare vibrator to attach to another railroad car to be unloaded. The work gang may never see the vibrator again. Any permanent loss of the vibrator results in a loss of inventory and money. Permanent or temporary loss of a vibrator requires that spare vibrators be on hand thereby adding to operating costs.
It has been determined that there is still a need to provide a bracket assembly that is useable with various types of vibrators and combinations of male bracket portions and female bracket portions. This determination has been made from the inquiries that have been made to the present inventor by various end users. The desired bracket assembly must be easy to use and perform the function for which it has been designed without the need to use either impact tools, wrenches, extraction tools, and/or puller tools. The needed bracket assembly must operate in all weather conditions and in positions that have limited working space i.e. under a railroad car. The needed bracket assembly must also be economical to manufacture. The present invention provides such a bracket assembly and satisfies the identified need.